Gate latch



4June 16, 1925.

' M. LEHTONEN GATE LATCH Filed Feb. 13. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Q a@ N /Y. Ef/ra/vw June 16, |925.

' M. LEHTONEN sus LA'rcH 2 sheets-sheet 2 Filed Feb. 13. 1922 Sme/whoa Patented June 16, 1925.

UNITED STATES MATTI LEHTONEN, 0F CRISI-IULM, MINNESOTA.

GATE LATCH.

Application filed February 13, 1922. Serial No. 536,139.

To all ui/110m, t may concern.:

Beit known that I, MATTI LEHTONEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chisholm, in the county of Saint Louis and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in `Grate Latches; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to an improved latching and locking mechanism for farm or other gates of the type which extend across a road and having means whereby the latchingmechanism is released and the gate swung open by drivers without alighting from the vehicle.

The principal object of theinvention is to provide a novel construction of latching mechanism releasablel by the driver of a vehicle without alighting and immediately prior to the openingof the gate and also operable by a pedestrian and which will automatically fasten the gate when swung to a closed position. d

Another object is to .provider means for locking the latching mechanism when in latched position.

In the "accompanying drawings forming apart of this specification and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same:

Figure 1 is a perspective view ofa gate and lock operating means constructedV in accordance `with this invention, the same being shown in use.

Figure 2 `is an enlarged elevational view of the improved lock for the main gate showing the cover. plate removed to disclose the internal mechanism.

Figure is a view like Fig. 2 showing the position of parts when the pull-cable is actuated to open the gate.

Figure 4 is a similar view showing the position of parts when locked.

Figure 5 is a detail section taken on the line 5--5 of Fig. 2.

Figures 6 and 7 are detail sections taken on the lines 6--6 and 7-7 respectively of Fig. 2.

Figure 8 is a view like Fig. 7 showing the position of the slide when the levers are locked. A

Referring to the drawings wherein the preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in detail, it will be seen that the numeral 1 designates generally a horizontally. swinging gate which is formed from a plurality of tubular members connected together by couplings. Specifically described, the horizontal tubes or members of the gate designated by the numerals 2 are connected together at their ends by vertical pipes 3 and 4 respectively. Intermediate the end-pipes are' other spaced pipes 5 which constitute mounting means or supports for an auxiliary gate 6 to be used by pedestrians. A pluralit-yof comparatively short horizontally spaced wires 7 extend between the parts 3, 4: and 5 as clearly shown in` the drawings to complete the body portion of the gate. Although it is not essential, this gate is so constructed as to include reinforcing and bracingl means. In carrying this out, I simply securevertical pipes 8 to the intermediate couplings 9 of the gate and these pipes themselves are connected with couplings 10 and 10a`to which inclined or diagonal pipes 11 are connected. The last named pipes constitute braces and the coupling 10a has one of its extensions attened or constructed fas indicated at 12 to accommodate small pulleys 13 which serve a purpose to be hereinafter described. By referring tothe forward or free end of the gate, it will be seen that a special coupling 14 is provided to permit connection of the various pipes and to accommodate another pulley 15.

The improved gate is pivotally mounted on brackets 16 secured to a comparatively high -post 17 having a cross-piece 18 on its upper end. A pivot pin 19 passes-through the bearings 2O and throughthe aforesaid brackets 16 and serves tojconnect the gate with the post 17. Coiled springs 21 surround the pivot pin 19 and have their end portions 22 bearing against the post 17 and their opposite end portions extended in parallelism with the ends just described and connected with gate-closing levers 24. Each lever is pivoted between its -ends on the'pin 19 and the upper one bears at one end against one side of the post whereas the lower one bears at the same end against the opposite sides of the post, the opposite ends of these fingers similarly engaging th-e rear vertical pipe of the main gate.. It is obvious that this construction serves to automatically close the gate and it will be noted that the spring-actuated levers operate entirely separate and independent oieach other. For instance, the upperlever serves. to move the gate in one direction and is auton'iatically rendered ineffective as soon as the gate reaches its closed position and the remaining lever serves to move the gate in an opposite direction and likewise` become ineffective at a predetermined time. rloYe-nable the invention to be clearly understood, we will assume .that theA gate is @moved `toward the right-hand side. ln so ydoing, tle upper spring-closinglever is swungl on its pivot in suche. way as to -niove the end 23 away frein the post.. At this time, the lower springelever -is not affected, Due to the fact thaty the coiled spring 21 is so associated with'fthis post and-Lspringelever aslo act on the latter, it will be seen thatv as soon as the gateis released,l the. spring will -function to exert pressureA on the lever and the latter `will automatically.close-the gate. As soon-as 1the end' zcomes into engagement with the posa-.furthermovement ol" the lever under.consideration-will be stopped'.` lt may therefore-be stated. that,y the lever fails to operateafternthe gatey assumes a prede termined position during its closing` operation l'the: gateY is swung; in anopposite direction, the lower springecontrollet'l.lever operatesfto. automatically close the gate after the latter is released. `Asleeve or the 4,like 25 surrounds the intermediate portion of thi-s pivot pin yand spaces the two coil-edisprings apart..

Referring now to the means torsiinultane eusly4 irnlockin-g and moving the gate-to open position :from a distance. on opposite sides of the --fencefitfwill .beiseenthat l simply employ two cables 26 traine-d= over pulleysf mounted on ,suitable supports 28. Hands. grips 29 .arersecured-to the endsot the .-ca-l bles and the intern'iediate portions el' the latter are wrapped around drums SO-'iuountcd on the upperside-ol the cross-piece 1S adjacent the opposite*ends'thereot. The two cables. are connected together: at the vpoint where they. pass through` the enlarged `part of the-coupling'10n as indicated .at 3.1'(seeV Fig. 1) andthe single cablepasses thnough the aforesaid bracing 'pipe 11, the free end thereof passing over the pulley ,15 and beingv connected .with a locking inea-ns to be hereinafter described... lVit'h this arrangemennfit will. 'be seen .thateby grasping one'ofl' the han dgrips and exerting pull, the locking means for the 'gate will be rendered inelfective andI thev gate swung to open :position in the ordi# nary way. It is desirable after the Igate*4 is swung to vopen position, to Ihold. it in such` position and l provide novel means for accomplishing this end, lwhich is preferably iny thev formel' headed. latches lpivoted on ,bracketsf secured-to the cross-piece 18, the heads 'of these latches being designed to engage .ashoulderor the 'like 8/-1 carried by onefol the oresaid pipes', These latches are gravity-lowered a din order to nime thein lo position for releasing the gate to permit it to assume a closed position, l einploy small'bell-crank trips 35 lnwing one arm engaged with the latch, additional pnllcords or cables 36 being connected with the other arm,v for thepurpose olf lifting; the latches as is obvious. The last named pullcords are also equippedwith hand-grips if) and passover pulleys 27 which are provided on the aforesaid Support 2S.

As before indicated, a special lock is eniployed in connection with the main gate for holding the latterclosed `and ere ..ti unauthorisedI persons from opening i enablea clcar-understanding ot the preferred liorinv oit locle to bc'had, l direct attentionto Figs. r2 to 6 inclusive. The locl is generally indicated by the numeral 5l and generally speaking, it includes a suitable housing liaving arranged therein a pair offhand-operated pivotcd latches 5G having .their .inner ends disposed in overlapping relation and provided with aws designed to grp a suitable keeper on the post 5S. By carefully examining thefjas, it willwbe seen that theyare` equipped with laterally disposed lugs. 57a.v which `are dcsigned: to engagexthe-"under edges. of the latclies.--lVith this arrangement, it will Ihe seen that when one latch `is moved, the lug which it carri es'will be brought intoengag nient 1 with f the `remaining latch` so as to simultaneously operate the lastunained latch. l't may-be Conveniently statcd'hcr ,lliat th manually operatedfeable which is here indicated by the numeral 5f) has conrectiini with one of ythe 'latches through the .diiun of sul stantially Vfshaped resilientineinberiGO anda short pieceol cordrfor the like G1. It is thereforeobvious that when either one-of the aforesaid: caliiles'QG are pulled,- the cable will also be move-d in zu manner lo lift vone-oi the latches-56. Consequently, the latches will be disengaged 'trom the keeper 57 andA -furlflier'p'ull ou these cables will open-.the-gate. The `inherent` resiliency o'tthe memberi60=serves to automaticalljlY return the parts-tov they qkiositionf-sl-iown in Fignwitli thellatch'esin their normal locking position.

YVhile it. is not essentiahrl prefer lo utilize key-controlledaineans -lor preventing movement ol the latches. -s cleaifly shown in the figures `under consideration, there are spaced guides 62 arranged.inside ol: the lock housing and a slide G3 operates through these guidesgthe slide'being equipped with an irregular edge 64 with which the head of ahey 651is designed-to eco-act for the purpose of :imparting sliding` movement thereto. The casing is formed with a keyhole to permit insertion and removal of the key Vand astationary supporting member GG lll) till

having a reduced end 67 is arrangedin the casing for supporting the keyin proper position to act on the slide, VThis slide` is equipped with a laterally disposed ear 68 having connection with a tumbler G9 and this tumbler is provided with a laterally directed portion which, when in the position shown in Fig. l4;, overlies the 'upper edges ol the latches and prevents thorn from being moved around their pivots. Consequently, the gate cannot. be opened until the slide assumes the position indicated in Fig. 7, in which position, it will serve to swing the tumbler G9 to theposition shown in Fig. 2. In this position, the laterally directed parts of the tumbler will not interfere with free movement of the latches.

A careful consideration of the description in connection with the drawings will probably be sufficient to enable Apersons to understand the invention and `the Amanner in which itoperates. However, a brief review of the operation may well be mentioned here. To this end, and assuming that a vehicle is approaching the gate from the left, it will be seen that in order to open it, it will only be necessary for the driver to grasp the hand-grip 29 and to exert a downward pull. In so doing, the cable will be shortened to an extent to litt the latch to which it is connected, consequently permitting the gate and causing it to swing in a direction away from the vehicle to a position at right angles with respect to the post l?. As soon as it assumes this position, the latch 32 will automatically engage the shoulder 3a and maintain the gate in this position until the vehicle has passed. W'hen the driver approaches the supporting structure 28, he may reach and grasp the hand-grip 29 controlling the latch-cable 36, thus imparting movement to the bell-crank trip in such a manner as to elevate and disengage the latch from the shoulder. The aforesaid spring-actuated levers 24tnow come into play lor automatically7 returning the gate to closed position. In practice, the hand-grips for the cables may be varied in design and color to enable them to be clearly distinguished. As the gate assumes its closed position, the latches automatically re-engage the keeper 57 and the gate is again locked. and is so held until operated by this manual means or by hand,

Since probably the best results may be obtained wi th the construction and arrangeinent herein shown and described, this isf taken as the preferredembodiment of the invention. However, I wish 1t to be understood that minor changes coming within the scope o'l the invention as claimed may be resorted to if desired.

I claim: l '1. A gate latch comprising a housngcn;7 latches pvotally mounted Within said housing and having lreeper gripping portions arranged in overlapping relation, a pivoted Vlatches pivoted in saidcasing and having keeper-gripping jaws, a tumbler lpivotally mounted in said `casing and having a laterally directed portion adapted to overlie adjacent edges of the latches to prevent pivotal movement thereof, and means actuated from the exterior oir' the casing `for controlling said tumbler.

` A gate latch comjn'ising a casing, a pair ot latches pivotallymounted within said casing and having jaws arranged in overlapping relation for gripping a keeper, a tumbler pivotally mounted in said casing and having a laterally directed portion adapted to overlie adjacent edges ot said latches when inoperative position, a vertically movable member arranged in said casing and having connection with said tumbler for moving it to operative `and `inoperative positions and means whereby said member is actuated from the outside of said casing.

4. A gate latch comprising a casing, a pair of latches pivotally mounted in the casing and having jaws arranged in overlapping relation tor gripping a keeper, a tumbler pivoted in the casing and having a portion adapted for co-action with said latches tor preventing pivotal movement thereol', a key-operated slide mounted lor reciprocation in said casing, and a connection be-A tween said slide and said tumbler for actuating the latter.

5. A gate latch comprising a casing, pair oft' latches pivotally mounted in said casing and having jaws arranged in overlapping relation :tor automatically gripping a keeper, a pivotally mounted tumbler arranged in said casing and having a portion cio-operating with said latches for holding them against movement, guides mounted in said casing, a slide arranged in said guidesy a connection between said slides and said tumbler for transmitting movement from the former to the latter and meanswhereby said slideis actuated from the outside of said casing.

6. A gate latch comprising a casing, latches pivotally mounted in said casing and having overlapping hook-shaped inner ends for gripping engagement with a keeper, oliset lugs formed on said hook-shaped inner ends, said lugs projecting beneath and adapted to engage the underside of the adjacent portions of the opposite latch whereby the lifting of one latch will lift the other and operating handles on the outer ends o said latches and projecting out of the opposite sides of said easing.

llO

i Leia-1 51 l. A gate latch eoi'nprising a easing, latehespivotally mounted in said oasi-ng and having overlapping hook-shaped inner ends tor gripping engagement with a. keeper, oilset lugs formed on said hook-shaped inner ends, said lugs proj eeting'benfeath and adapted to engage the underside of the adjacent portions of the opposite 4lateh whereby the lifting o. one latch' will lift'the other, operating' handles on the outerends of1 said latches and projecting ont' of the opposite sides of said easing, and means whereby the innerends oi? the latches are liitedrom a distant point for disengaging the jaws from the keeper.

8. A gate lato-h comprising a easing, latches pivotally mounted in said casing' and having overlapping hook-shaped inner ends for gripping engagement with ay keeper, offset lugs formed on said hooli-shaped inner ends, said lugs projecting beneath and adapted to engage the underside of the adjacent portions of the opposite lateh whereby the lifting of one latch will lift the other, operating handles on the outer ends of said latches and projecting ontr oi the opposite sideslot said casing, "an'd sprii'igretracted means whereby vthe inner ends'o'f the latches are lifted from' a distant pointlor disengaging the aws frein the keeper.

9. A gate lato'h comprising a easing, latches pivotally mounted in said easing and having` overlapping'hook-shaped inner ends for gripping engagen'ient with avlieeper, oilset lugs' ormed'on vsaid hook-shaped inner ends; said lugs projecting beneath and adapted to engage the underside 0i the adjacent portions ofthe opposite latch whereby the lil'ting of one latch will liftt the other, operating handles on the outer ends of said latches and projecting ont ofthe opposite sides ol said casing, a spring arranged in said casing, a flexible Connection between said spring and the inner end of one of said latches, and an operating element conneeted with said spring whereby the inner ends of the latches are lifted from a distant point for disengaging the jaws from the keeper.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

MATTI LEHTONEN. 

